Edward Hammond Clarke
Edward Hammond Clarke | |
|---|---|
Unknown photographer, Edward Hammond Clarke, c. 1868. Harvard University Archives, Harvard Class of 1868 Album. | |
| Born | February 2, 1820 |
| Died | November 30, 1877 (aged 57) |
| Occupation(s) | Medical professor and physician |
| Parent | Reverend Pitt Clarke (father) Mary Jones Clarke (mother) |
| Relatives | Major Jacob Clarke (uncle) William Clarke |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania Medical School |
| Academic work | |
| Institutions | Harvard Medical School |
| Notable works | Sex in Education; or, A Fair Chance for Girls (1873) |
Edward Hammond Clarke (February 2, 1820 – November 30, 1877) was a Harvard Medical School professor (1855-1872) and physician. He caused controversy in 1873 following the publication of his book Sex in Education; or, a Fair Chance for Girls, in which he argued that women were inherently less physically and intellectually capable than men. He claimed that a woman's health would deteriorate as a result of higher education, and moreover that the education of women would come at the expense of their reproductive health. He was not alone in holding such antifeminist views at a time when women were asserting their right to higher education. His claims were notably rebutted by physician Mary Putnam Jacobi in 1876.